The present invention relates in general, to a container closure and, in particular, relates to a container closure having an opening tab adapted to be retained thereto after the closure is opened.
In recent years, containers of the type generally used for beer and beverages have employed closures, or can ends, having easy opening tabs. In the first generation of such closures, the pour opening panel and opening tab were of the type which was severable from the container closure at the time the container was opened. Such removable easy opening tabs presented a problem from the standpoint of litter.
In the second generation easy opening tabs the tab is permanently retained on the can end. In such an end, the pour opening panel is defined by a score line. Situated adjacent the score line is an opening tab secured to the closure by means of a rivet. The opening tab of this type of closure is adapted to pivot about a fulcrum and to depress the pour opening panel into the container with the opening tab thereafter being retained to the container closure. One such prior art retained tab container closure is set forth and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,752-Cudzik.
One difficulty encountered in container closures of the type disclosed in the aforementioned Cudzik patent and elsewhere, is that after the opening tab is utilized to sever the pour opening panel from the remainder of the closure at the score line defining the pour opening panel, the retained opening tab remains situated in the vicinity of the pour opening. Since the opening tab and pour opening panel are in the vicinity of the pour opening, difficulties are encountered in pouring the contents of the container through the pour opening. Further, difficulties are encountered when the contents are consumed directly from the container. In this circumstance, the opening tab tends to present an obstacle to the user.
It would be desirable to provide an improved container closure which does not suffer from the aforementioned disadvantages, while retaining the benefits achieved utilizing an opening tab which is retained to the end closure after opening.
Still another problem associated with retained tab type container closures of the type disclosed in the aforementioned Cudzik patent is that these do not lend themselves to various promotional methods now commonly employed. In one promotional method now employed with removeable easy opening tabs, a message or indicia is placed on the inside surface of the tab. The buyer, or consumer, of a particular container removes such easy opening tabs to read the indicia which may indicate a promotional message or the like. With easy opening tabs of the retained type, however, it is impossible to read promotional messages on the inside surface thereof since, after opening, the pour opening panel is inside the container.
It would be desirable to provide an improved container closure of the retained tab type which lends itself to the utilization of promotional messages.